“Zero strikes” Mayor approaches his 100th strike

• This week’s disruption takes the total number of public transport strikes under Sadiq Khan’s watch to 95.

• In 2016, he promised to make sure this number would be ‘zero’ under his watch.

• Nick Rogers AM said the Mayor’s zero strikes pledge is ‘in pieces.’

The number of public transport strikes under the current Mayor of London will be 95 this week, despite promising “zero strikes” would happen under his Mayoralty, according to GLA Conservatives transport spokesperson Nick Rogers AM.

This means Sadiq Khan has the worst record of any Mayor of London on industrial action. As of this week:

• There have been 15.1 strikes per year under the current Mayor, significantly more than Ken Livingstone (2) or Boris Johnson (4.375).

• 110 days were disrupted under the current Mayor, by over 2,000 hours of strikes.

• The Central Line was disrupted 74 times by strikes under Sadiq Khan’s watch. The Victoria line was disrupted 70 times. A full breakdown by Tube line is below.

• At Mayor’s Question Time on 24th March 2022, Sadiq Khan said he was speaking to the trade unions to persuade them to avoid further disruptive strike action. Since then, there have been a further 39 strikes.

Last week, economists estimated there will be a £120 million hit to the London economy as a result of this week’s strikes alone (source).

In 2016, Sadiq Khan said: "As mayor, what I’d do is roll up my sleeves and make sure that I’m talking to everyone who runs public transport to make sure there are zero days of strikes" (source). He added that Ken Livingstone’s 16 strikes were “too many,” and that the 35 strikes under Boris Johnson were a “disgrace” and a “sign of failure.”

Nick Rogers AM, GLA Conservatives transport spokesperson, said:

“At nearly 100 strikes, Sadiq Khan’s ‘zero strikes’ pledge is in pieces. Londoners are once again facing major disruption because Sadiq Khan is focused on political posturing and not on getting a grip of TfL. The Mayor should face down the militant unions, secure a long-term funding settlement for TfL, and end these strikes.”

The number of times each line has been disrupted by industrial action, under Sadiq Khan: